Home with the flu this week, but when I wasn't sleeping I was either on PR, watching Craftsy-Susan Khaljie, or watching a Peggy Sagers video. Wasn't sure if it was delirium, but I thought I heard two (opposite) methods of sewing in sleeves. Peggy Sagers advised sewing with the inside of the dress on top, so that the feed dogs would control and move the fullness of the sleeve cap along. Susan Khaljie suggested inside of the sleeve on top, so the sewer could control the fullness of the sleeve cap.

Ease my feverish confusion, please. How do you sew in your sleeves, and why?

IMHO, both methods have merit. I nearly always cut my sleeves so that they have very little ease, and I like to sew with the sleeve on top. If there is any excess to ease in, I nudge it in with a tool as I sew.

I saw a video tutorial some time back (sorry, wish I knew who did it; I would link to it); tried it myself, and was immediately hooked. No puckers, ever! -- Edited on 1/10/13 9:05 PM --

Sleeve on top to better control the ease. If you pull the ease towards the sides, you get hardly any puckers (I don't baste the sleeve seams, just pin).

I have a Pfaff with IDT which may explain why it does not work too well for me having the sleeve towards the feed dogs. Of course I could disengage the IDT but I still get more puckers when the sleeve is not on top.

I watch Peggy Sagers too. She does say to have the sleeve on the bottom. If it is a knit and I am using my serger I put the sleeve on the bottom, pinning at the shoulder. It works well, the differential feed I think Peggy said to set at 1 but I had mine at 2 tonite and it worked just fine. It was a finicky knit.

Take care of yourself the flu has really hit hard in our state too, best wishes for a speedy recovery!
-- Edited on 1/11/13 0:17 AM --
Edited for typos and lack of -- Edited on 1/11/13 0:20 AM --

Sleeve on top for the same reasons as others have given. I have tried the sleeve underneath way, but IMO the advantage of the feed dogs pulling faster doesn't outweigh seeing what is happening to any excess fabric.

I sew with the sleeve on the bottom also. I saw a trick from Nancy Zieman about easing by sewing around the sleeve cap and allowing it to backup against you finger as you sew it. It has always worked for me. But seems these days a lot of sleeves are sewn in flat which is a little easier. I remember wrestling with set in sleeves back in the day.

Sleeve on bottom to take advantage of the feed dogs, even when sewing with knits on my serger. I've tried it on top before and did it that way for years, but I never got good results. I don't baste or steam the sleeve first, and only pin at the shoulder and ends of the sleeve. Whenever possible I sew it in flat because it makes adjusting the sides and sleeve width easier later on. While I'm sewing I maneuver the ease with my fingers, and if I get a pucker I rip out a couple of inches of stitches and try sewing only that part again.

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